14 June 2011

Graduate of the Year

I've been AWOL from the blog for a bit longer than usual, however it was all for a good reason.

My amazing talented husband was competing this weekend for the Graduate of the Year title for green keeping. This is a big deal in the world of sports turf management (the official proper title for green keeping) and is the sports turf management equivalent of the Young Farmers award I suppose.

For Owen, dropping out of high school at 16 and working hard from apprentice to qualified car painter, then finding dissatisfaction and risks in that role and then being successfully self employed, to then starting again as an apprentice in a new profession in something he is ultimately passionate about...well its been a long slog. Its had its ups and downs, and much has been sacrificed. Every year of his 3 year studies he's acheived top marks and merits and was the first to ever achieve 3 merits in the Level 4 course. The most satisfying was last years merit for work completed on time and at a high standard even in the midst of our heartbreak and my sickness. And it doesn't stop there, as he is now aiming for the diploma - which when finished will have been 7 years of study.

So I was there and beaming proudly when he won the award for Graduate of the Year on Sunday. Recognition of someone who is truly unique and destined for great things. We've been buzzing ever since.


In 2 weeks we go down to Hamilton for Owen to officially accept his award at the Turf Conference. Which means I get to dress up! (yay!) He is also getting offered a trip to Melbourne at the end of the year  (even bigger yay!) to work at Royal Melbourne Golf Club for the Presidents Cup, the first time this major golf event has been held outside the USA and has all the big names in golf playing. At this stage I'm planning to tag along and stay with my brother and his girlfriend as, to be honest, golf doesn't excite me in quite the same way! But shopping does.


So yeah, I just wanted to share with you how awesome my man is and how proud of him we all are. Of course this means the opportunities now open to him in this industry are huge and it means that ahead of us are changes which will be very exciting. So its a matter of watch this space I guess.

5 comments:

Sima J said...

YAY!! Well done hubby!! And especially well done Melbourne visit tehe - I love Melbourne, and while I am definitely a country girl, if I HAD to live in a city Melbourne would be right up there! Have FUN and enjoy the well deserved achievement!

jacksta said...

Yay for hubby! To be honest I had NO idea so much went into keeping the greens green! I will definitely appreciate the greens much more the next time I play a game...who knows when that might be!
Yay for a trip to Melbourne... everyone raves about it...I might just have to put it on my to do list. I think Ill flag the shopping and head for the food though!

Leonie said...

wow!! congratulations to your hubby Mon, how awesome!!!

Sophie said...

yay, that's exciting! I like the part about the shopping trip to Melb too!! :)

BreastCancerSisterhood.com said...

It's always so great when hard work and persistence pays off for nice people. Just found your blog and have read some of your posts. I'm a breast cancer survivor, 7 years out. My husband, James, died unexpectedly the day after Christmas. Getting through his death is harder than getting through breast cancer.

Have a great trip and productive shopping:)
Brenda Coffee